Penang and the passing scene

NOTE:  If you would like less narrative and more pictures, please visit my website. 

We enjoyed a decent night's sleep, then continental breakfast in our room before the day's schedule fell apart as we were two hours late getting into Butterworth for our walking tour of Georgetown on Penang Island.  Even late and at a hotter time of day, that was a welcome break from reading and gazing out the windows of the train.

We saw lots of rice paddies from the train in both Malasia and Thailand.  Here is one before the plants have sprouted.

These paddies are a little further along

Further still.

Maybe ready for harvest.  There are workers in this one.

We eventually arrived in Butterworth, and then took a bus to Georgetown, the capitol of the Malasian state of Penang Island, for our walking tour. We had a knowledgeable guide who filled us in on lots of local lore as he led us down Peace Street and into a mosque, a Hindu temple, a Buddhist temple, and an Anglican church before we arrived at several government buildings left over from the days of British rule. 

This is fairly typical of the housing we saw from the train in Malasia.  

View of Butterworth on the way to Penang--or possibly Georgetown.  I'm a little confused about what this is, but I know it is a view from the bus on the way from the train to Georgetown, Penang Island.

Same place

Lots of cultural variety here, as everywhere in this region of the world

A large Hindu temple on our way in

Georgetown

The mosque 

A shrine

The Buddhist temple

Tri-shaws carried tourists and locals who didn't want to walk

The Hindu temple

Local dress

There's a guy in there, taking a nap

Flowers are everywhere

Commercial street

Incense sticks at a temple

A monk dispensing advice--spiritual or tourist?

In the British section

The Anglican church

It's peaceful here, but not without cost, apparently

Eastern and Orient Express

NOTE:  If you would like less narrative and more pictures, please visit my website. 

 Another day, another train, but so far, this doesn't look like any train I've experienced.  We started in the very posh Regent Hotel, running through the E and O's efficient check-in system.  Bags first, then boarding passes, then meal card for today's lunch, tour preferences, then off to the lounge for  optional refreshments and time to fill out immigration forms.

A view of the dining car

 Now THIS is a train.  Beautiful cars, beautifully appointed, marvelous food, excellent service, interesting traveling companions, and best of all, a real bathroom with a real toilet, sink, (no fold-ups!) and separate shower.  And a hairdryer!  And you can tell that it's clean instead of suspecting that all sorts of unknown horrors are growing in it.  

Yes, I know it's just a toilet, but if you'd ridden our previous train, you would understand my delight in this bathroom!

A real sink, and a real shower stall--small, but NOT all in the same space.  Heaven!

Lovely compartment--beautiful woodwork, fruit, water, and orchids!

This bench seat becomes a bed at night, and the wooden panel above it folds down to become the upper bunk.  Typical of train compartments, but very nice.

 After we boarded, we were fed a three course lunch, followed by tea, then a multi-course dinner.  Decent nights sleep, then continental breakfast in our room, before  the day's schedule fell apart as we were two hours late getting into Butterworth for our walking tour of Georgetown on Penang Island.

Tea.  We tried this once but quickly realized we would disembark as cargo if we didn't watch ourselves!

I could get used to having a French chef...

...who does wonderful Asian things, too...

...and irresistible desserts!

We enjoyed Thai dancing one night before dinner.

It's a bit hard to say goodby to this train.  This is the open air observation car.

This train took us from Singapore to Bangkok, through Malasia with stops at Penang Island and another at the River Kwai. (More on both of those later.)  It is hot and steamy outside, with more poverty than I expected to see.  This is a bit like riding in a bubble, enjoyable on one level, uncomfortable on another.